


and then this fool will rush in

by nervousbakedown



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Healthy Coping Mechanisms, M/M, Pre-Slash, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 18:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20278012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervousbakedown/pseuds/nervousbakedown
Summary: cody can't sleep on the tour bus. noel helps him and has some feelings.





	and then this fool will rush in

Noel had almost fallen asleep when he heard a loud groan. It startled him, gave him that thudding sensation in his chest when he jolted awake. He opened his eyes to the darkness of the tour bus ceiling. 

He knew the exasperated noise came from down the hall. He didn’t know why, or why the person wasn't asleep yet. Noel thought they would’ve been asleep by now. 

Noel decided to ignore it. He pulled his covers up and closed his eyes again. 

He didn’t even get to try to fall back asleep due to sudden footsteps coming down the short hallway, getting louder as they got closer. Noel turned his head to see who the footsteps belonged to. Even though he couldn’t quite make out who it was, the closer they got, it became obvious.

Sure enough, in the dim light from cars and streetlights outside, Noel soon saw Cody standing at his bed, one hand on the mattress. 

“Dude are you - you’re awake?” Cody whispered, changing his tone once he realized that Noel wasn’t actually asleep. 

Noel thought about explaining that _actually, I was close to getting to sleep, but then your stupid noises woke me up_. He didn’t, though. All he said was, “yeah.”

“Thank god,” Cody sighed. His voice sounded oddly strained, almost upset. “Noel, I can’t sleep, even though I’m so tired.”

Noticing the weirdness in Cody’s voice, Noel propped himself up an elbow. “What do you mean?”

Cody leaned his elbows on Noel’s lofted bed. His eyebrows were knit together and he was breathing awfully hard. “I’ve been trying to sleep for hours and it’s just… I’m so exhausted but I can’t, like, calm down or whatever –”

Noel cut him off. He reached out, put his hand on Cody’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.”

“What do I do? I don’t know what to –”

“I don’t know, just – come up here with me.”

Cody stared at Noel, mouth agape. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Noel said, scooting over on the tiny bed. He patted the space next to him. “We gotta get some sleep.”

Cody didn’t say anything, just climbed up the bed frame and into the space next to Noel. Bent awkwardly to keep himself from knocking his head on the ceiling, Cody got under the blankets and lay down on his back. He took in a shaky breath. 

Noel didn’t think this through - his head was almost off his pillow, having relinquished it to Cody, and his body was awkwardly angled away from his friend. Noel sighed and turned over, so he could be on his side. He propped himself up on his elbow again to get a good look at Cody. He felt genuinely worried about him all the sudden. He was breathing way too fast, his shoulders all tensed up even while lying down.

“Hey, Cody, hey,” Noel put his palm on Cody’s chest, right above his heart. 

Cody turned his head and met Noel’s gaze. Noel could’ve sworn his eyes were a little teary, but he could’ve been hallucinating, what with his own exhaustion and all. 

“I think you’re just really anxious right now,” Noel said, recognizing the physical symptoms Cody was having. Noel guessed that even though Cody was beyond tired, his body just wasn’t letting go of the rush from their show earlier, from their whole busy, crazy day.

Cody nodded, his eyes still big, panicked and scared. Noel felt his own heart thud in his chest at how freaked out Cody was. He moved his palm to the center of Cody’s chest and spoke to him softly. 

“Look at me,” Noel said, even though Cody was already staring at him. Cody nodded.

“Now breathe with me,” Noel continued, “in your nose and out your mouth.”

Noel breathed in through his nose, purposefully loud so Cody could hear him and get the timing right. He breathed in for four seconds and out for four seconds. Noel heard Cody follow him, not as loud. They kept breathing together until Cody took to it on his own. He fell out of exhaling out his mouth after a while, went back to breathing through his nose, no longer so breathing hard he was almost hyperventilating. Noel rubbed his palm across Cody’s chest in small circles, light and soothing.

“There you go,” Noel said. He was starting to become uncomfortable being propped up like he was, so he lay back down on his side. He inched closer to Cody so he was on his pillow more, mere centimeters from lying flush with Cody. Noel withdrew his hand from Cody’s chest. 

“Any better?”

“A little,” Cody mumbled. 

“Wish I had some Xans,” Noel said. Cody let out a barely-there laugh under his breath. It was half a joke, but Noel really did wish he had some type of anti-anxiety medication with him, both for Cody and for himself. That, or sleeping meds. Not bringing any was a real oversight.

Cody surprised Noel by turning on his side so he faced him, his hair flopping over. It was a little weird, being this close. Okay, maybe Noel thought it should’ve been weird, but it wasn’t, especially not when Noel was worried about Cody like this. Cody shut his eyes for a few moments but opened them, deciding to look at Noel instead. 

Noel pursed his lips. He noticed that Cody didn’t have that scared glint in his eyes anymore - they went from scared to soft, almost calm, his pupils wide in the darkness. Noel couldn’t help but smile at the turnaround. 

Cody, of course, noticed. “What?”

Noel couldn’t seem to formulate what was really on his mind in words. Instead, he brought up something he was thinking about earlier when he first laid down for bed: “Dude, you fuckin’ killed it tonight.”

Cody smiled - at first closed mouthed, but slowly grinning wide enough to show his teeth. “You too,” he murmured.

“I mean it, you were like…” Noel trailed off, “I don’t know.”

Noel turned onto his back. He shifted closer to Cody so he could be on his pillow more, finding a comfy spot. Cody’s chest touched Noel’s side. Noel didn’t flinch away; instead he pressed into him, finding Cody to be warm and soft. 

It was easier for Noel to say what he was thinking when he wasn’t looking at Cody. “I just saw you across the stage from me at one point, and you had this look in your eye. It was pure – I don’t know what, but it made me happy. Felt right, you know?”

There were a few moments of silence. Noel was about to look to Cody for a reaction when he felt him move. Cody shifted down the bed and curled into Noel’s side. Noel moved his arm to make room for him. Cody pillowed his head on Noel’s chest, wrapped an arm around him.

Noel was in disbelief at first, his body stiff, but once he realized what was happening, he accepted it. He sighed and put his arm back down around Cody’s shoulders. Noel rubbed Cody’s bicep instinctively, over the sleeve of his worn t-shirt and down onto his smooth skin. He brought his other hand up to loosely hold onto Cody’s forearm where it was draped across his waist. They seemed to fall into place together, locking together like puzzle pieces. 

Noel didn’t see a need for talking anymore. Neither of them spoke. Noel focused on the sound of Cody’s soft breathing and faint heartbeat. He was so warm that Noel was getting too hot under the covers. He kicked down his blankets and held onto Cody a little tighter, just so he knew that he wasn’t moving to get up or kick him out. Noel moved his hand from Cody’s bicep to his hair, running his fingers through it. 

“Ugh, you little greaseball,” Noel said in a barely audible murmur. 

Cody heard him. He let out a barely audible “mmm” in reply. 

Focusing on the sound of their synchronized breathing, Noel felt himself begin to drift off. He thought some more about their day, about Cody, how nice and relaxing it was to hold Cody in his arms.

“‘Night,” Noel mumbled.

That time, Cody didn’t reply, as he was finally sound asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> title from put your head on my shoulder by paul anka
> 
> i'm aspiringhooligan on tumblr if you wanna hang :)


End file.
